Tokyo stocks ended higher on Monday as forecast-beating US jobs data lifted sentiment and weakened the yen, giving a boost to exporters including Toyota and rival automaker Nissan. On Friday, Wall Street powered to fresh records as the US Labour Department said the world's top economy added 255,000 jobs in July, easily topping analyst forecasts for an increase of 185,000 payrolls.
The strong report boosted the odds of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike by the end of this year, analysts said, and lifted the dollar against other major currencies including the yen. In forex trading Monday, the greenback rose to 102.12 yen from 101.79 yen in New York and 101.08 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday. A weaker yen bolsters the overseas profitability of Japan's exporters, and tends to increase demand for their shares.
"A possible pullback in US jobs figures had kept some on guard, and the latest data have quenched those concerns," Hitoshi Asaoka, a senior strategist with Mizuho Trust & Banking, told Bloomberg News. "It does leave room for a rate increase within this year, but that will be offset by the impact on the yen, which will in turn support Japanese stocks." The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rallied 2.44 percent, or 396.12 points, to finish at 16,650.57, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares advanced 2.00 percent, or 25.63 points, to 1,305.53.
Toyota shares advanced 3.32 percent to 6,055 yen and Nissan tacked on 2.60 percent to 994 yen, while factory robot maker Fanuc surged 3.76 percent to 17,225 yen. Banking giants Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group also soared, gaining 5.39 percent to 531.4 yen and 5.26 percent to 3,378 yen, respectively. Oil-linked shares also traded higher. Energy explorer Inpex jumped 3.17 percent to 822 yen and refiner JX Holdings gained 1.24 percent to 367.4 yen.
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